1. Field
A mechanism for preventing or inhibiting bubbles of dissolved gasses from outgassing due to phase change phenomenon of the pressure differential inside a liquid-filled incompressible line can be provided. This mechanism may be useful in a variety of applications, such as coating of stents and scaffolds.
2. Description of the Related Art
Pumps such as positive displacement pumps (for example, Ivek™ pumps) and syringe pumps may experience bubbles from dissolved gasses outgassing due to phase change phenomenon of the pressure differential inside a liquid-filled incompressible line.
Bubbles can cause inconsistency in weight gain of stents (or scaffolds) from stent to stent in a stent-spraying operation, in which the formulated coating solution is pumped to a nozzle and then sprayed onto the stents. Such bubbles may occur when delivering a liquid-based formulation, such as an acetone-based formulation.
Inconsistency in weight gain of stents, scaffolds, or other implantable or non-implantable medical devices can lead to unpredictability in therapeutic treatments or experimentation. Moreover, inconsistency in weight gain of such devices can signal a lack of uniformity in the depth of coatings. The lack of uniformity in depth of coatings may likewise lead to inconsistencies in drug or other active pharmaceutical agents release profile, holes in layers of coatings, poor adhesion, and/or exposed underlying layers.
Accordingly a system or method is needed to remove dissolved gasses from the mobile phase of a solution source, and to improve the reliability and the consistency of a pump in depositing a stent coating.